Maximizing Value in Survey Development
Survey Fatigue : When respondents become disinterested in completing a survey.
- Providing feedback is an investment of time and effort on the part of the respondent.
- This feedback implies that the respondent cares enough about the organization to help it get better.
- The findings from the Qualtrics study are that respondents do not think it is worth it to make an investment that improvement.
Effects of Survey Fatigue: Declining Feedback
Has fallen to a new low across industries.
- An 8% drop over the last 4 years.
- Stakeholders stay silent about experiences (good/bad)
- Leaves the leadership without the insights from stakeholders to navigate decision.
- A 2021-2024 study conducted by Qualtrics, indicates that less that 3% of stakeholders send feedback.
- Those 55 and older are more likely to not provide feedback at all.
Action Steps
- Communicate the purpose of the survey and the impact of the response of the survey in topic of interest.
- Focus on topics that are narrow in scope, on topics that have possibility for actionable implementation.
- Provide a receipt of feedback notification and Follow up to ensure that the respondent is aware that they were heard, and that there were actions taken based on that feedback.
- Address the erosion of public trust in surveys with a more holistic approach to address respondent(structured/unstructured/solicited/unsolicited)
Resources:
Adams, Meredith, Umbach, Paul () Nonresponse and Online Student Evaluations of Teaching: Understanding the Influence of Salience, Fatigue, and Academic Environments, Research in Higher Education